


dissonance > equilibrium

by awkwardedgeworth



Series: gravity holds us down [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, and akaashi downs redbull and coffee together, and bokuto falls for him, they meet each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-16
Updated: 2015-01-16
Packaged: 2018-03-07 20:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3182069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardedgeworth/pseuds/awkwardedgeworth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"May I sit here?"</p><p>Bokuto's head snaps up, and an angel is looking down at him.</p><p>The student beside him, wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a nondescript black t shirt with something printed white in English, opens the lid to his extra large coffee from Starbucks, rustles his bag for something, opens a Red Bull can, and dumps the whole thing into the coffee. Bokuto looks in alarm as the (very attractive) student mumbles, "I'm going to die." before chugging the drink.</p>
            </blockquote>





	dissonance > equilibrium

**Author's Note:**

> -leaves this here and runs far, far away-

 

 

 

Morning university classes are not kind, Bokuto admits, sprinting past a few joggers in the rowing team as he cuts across the green lawns of the business building with desperation burning in his calves. He's been running across the same green lawns for over two year, and still hasn't learnt his lesson. He skids to a stop and lunges up the ridiculous amount of stairs to his first class in the morning, eager to get this over with so he can meet up with Kuroo and the former volleyball members now that most of the juniors will be in their grade.

 

The teacher's not here yet, but his usual spot at the back of the seminar room has been snagged by a couple. Further inspection as he rubs a stitch forming on his side reveals that all but one seat in the room is filled.

 

Kuroo would cackle at him.

 

Front row it is.

 

It's not right smack dab in the middle. It's more off to the left hand side and he mumbles,  _excuse me sorry coming through can you move your bag please? thanks!_  before dropping into his seat as the professor strides into the room holding a cup of coffee.

 

Speaking of coffee....

 

The student beside him, wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a nondescript black t shirt with something printed white in English, opens the lid to his extra large coffee from Starbucks, rustles his bag for something, opens a Red Bull can, and dumps the whole thing into the coffee. Bokuto looks in alarm as the (very attractive) student mumbles, "I'm going to die." before chugging the drink.

 

 

 

 

 

"-and he chugs it. Like. The whole thing, bro. He mixed Red Bull and straight black." The last part perhaps was wrong, but Bokuto's special skill is exaggeration. 

 

He can hear the respect in Kuroo's voice. "Daaaamn. How was he throughout the whole lesson?"

 

"Fully functioning and everything. Took notes at the speed of light." Bokuto may or may not sneaked a few quick glances at his new neighbor, who's disheveled hair rivals Kuroo's. He's also left handed, having a strong preference for black erasable pens available at the campus book store. During their fifteen minute break, Bokuto curiously looked at the front of his notebooks, which says  _Akaashi Keiji_  in a neat, small font. "His name is Akaashi."

 

"Akaashi?"

 

"Do you know him?"

 

"No, but it looks like  _you_ do." Bokuto groans as Kuroo snickers over the phone. "On a scale of one to ten of one being an ogre to ten being a reincarnation of a god, what is he?"

 

He drags his hand down his face, thinking back to the black t-shirt and the  _flawlessness and sharp cheekbones._  "....Like. A strong 9.2. Bro, his eyebrow game is  _strong_."

 

"You're so screwed."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bokuto prances towards Calculus III with a spring in his step, not even bothering to check the back of the classroom where the familiar couple has taken permanent residence. A few seats are open in the front row today, as he did the impossible and woke up before his alarm for once. He chooses the aisle seat, and digs in his bag to stack his notebook and assignments before texting Kuroo who's over at Philosophy with Daichi.

 

"May I sit here?"

 

Bokuto's head snaps up, and an angel is looking down at him.

 

"S-Sure!" He strangles out, scooting his chair in so Akaashi  _strong eyebrow game_  Keiji can pass. The wing spiker closes his eyes to preserve the image- the tall, puffy eyed third year looking down with the ceiling lights casting a halo around his head. His wild curls sticking out from the sides of his head is  _beyond_ cute, and there's also that little furrow in his brow. Bokuto feels like he has reach tangible happiness but it's gone when the professor slams the door opens and begins to demand their assignments to be passed to the end of each row.

 

Papers are shuffled to him, and he makes a big deal out of looking at Akaashi's name. "Mornin' Akaashi! No Red Bull today?"

 

Akaashi's puffy eyes says  _I'm-not-taking-any-of-this-bullshit-this-early-in-the-morning_ in a deadpanned stare. "I got some sleep last night, Bokuto-san." His thick lashes lowers to look at Bokuto's notebook, before shooting him a small smirk (smile?).

 

And Bokuto wheezes, deciding that he's absolutely fucking screwed. How can someone pull off skinny jeans like that? With Vans? And with a simple black sweater with a number 5 printed on the back in white? Who gave him the right to be so tired but attractive looking? With flawless skin and mysterious eyes and a sleepy smile? The world is  **so** not fair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He swears Kuroo is plotting against him.

 

Akaashi becomes a permanent fixture like the cute couple who took Bokuto's former seat- not that Bokuto minds, because he definitely prefers this one. He has no problem with the mechatronics-major-minoring-in-communications Akaashi. In fact, Bokuto gets along with him very well once he finds out that Akaashi plays volleyball.

 

The problem is that Bokuto is at the edge, and is right handed, and Akaashi is on his right, and is left handed.

 

He has lost count of how many times their elbows has rubbed, grazed, and touched with or without sleeves in the way. His heart, bless the organ, must have jumps every time electricity is passed between their elbows grazing.

 

Akaashi is grumpy about it. "You'd think they have more common sense to put the left handed desk on the edge of the class." He mumbles, erasing lines in his notes that's the result of Bokuto accidentally bumping into his arm (it's an accident he swears!). 

 

After sitting beside him for a month, Bokuto realizes he's never a morning person, and has fueled himself with two cups of straight black coffee every morning before coming to the seminar. He'll be in a better mood once they have break. "You can ask to change with someone else but-"

 

"No thanks. I prefer you." Bokuto's caffeinated heart doubles in time as Akaashi organizes his notes, speaking logically, noise canceling headphones around his neck. "The only other left handed seat is in the back, and it's too loud there. The front row is better if you want to pass this class."

 

"Do you like this class?" Bokuto peers at his head sideways. Over the months, he has gotten to know his handwriting well- the way Akaashi doesn't curve his Ys or Js and the quick strokes he uses to answer Bokuto's silly questions. His backpack is filled with their doodles (not that he'd tell anyone that) and Akaashi's attempts of drawing an askew robot (which Bokuto guesses is his project for his mechatronics class). "Do you even like math?"

 

Akaashi turns, meeting his eyes, dark shadows and full lashes. "I love math."

 

Bokuto is a dead, dead man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

He breathes in the cold air and cheerfully waves at his mother and sister as they head into the train station. His family checks up on him, something about being the baby of the family, which was ridiculous since Bokuto's the eldest (and has lead his team to the National Title last year).

 

He's wandering around Tokyo Tower, not wanting to go back to the dorm since he has a big, big pile of Japanese waiting for him and the prospect of Kuroo flirting with Daichi when he sees an Akaashi-like figure from the corner of his eyes and turns.

 

"Akaashi!"

 

It  _is_ Akaashi. His classmate looks up and Bokuto sees one of those university pass cards dangling from his bare neck with his full name and 'English' printed in bold. The furrow is back in his eyebrows as he quickly slides up to him. "Bokuto-san."

 

"Hey, hey! What are you doing here?"

 

"Giving the international kids a tour." As if on cue, a girl wearing a pastel cap asks a rapid fire question in English and Akaashi answers back. Bokuto can only make out 'friend', and 'calculus' apart from the string of unfamiliar verbs. With neon colors splashing on Akaashi's pale skin from the billboards surrounding them, he learns something about Akaashi and puts a fragment of a puzzle piece in his mind.

 

"Are you wandering around, Bokuto-san?" Akaashi asks in Japanese, and it takes Bokuto a few seconds to answer because his eyes looks brighter than usual- like Bokuto is sitting in an airplane that has just broken through low clouds and sees a sea of black and lights reflecting up to him. Endless black twinkling with hidden secrets and puzzles and clues to what makes Akaashi,  _Akaashi_.

 

He grins effortlessly, tugging on his yellow scarf. "Something like that. My mom and sister visited me and I just sent them home after dinner. I don't want to do homework- it's Friday!"

 

It might be his imagination but Akaashi's smile might be widening. "Indeed."

 

"You give student orientation tours, huh?"

 

"Volunteer. I have a job at the cafe in campus. They were short of people who can speak fluent English."

 

"That didn't sound like English to me."

 

"They're from London. Their English is accented."

 

Bokuto nods like he knows how to tell the difference between English English and American English he hears on his wildlife documentaries. "How long do you have to shepherd them?"

 

"I'm done." Akaashi moves to take off his tag and Bokuto sees his long fingers and wonders briefly if he ever played the piano or violin. Another puzzle piece of Akaashi. "Do you want to walk back together, Bokuto-san?"

 

Bokuto wonders how he got so lucky suddenly, and answers yes enthusiastically.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sawamura is sleeping, and Bokuto helps Kuroo tuck him into bed after five Sapporos too many for a Friday night. Bokuto's own head is fuzzy, but he can still function like a normal human being at 3 AM. He tells Kuroo how he's home so late.

 

"No way. He  _asked_ you to walk with him?" Kuroo grins, cheeks pink from the alcohol making him unsteady on his feet like a young colt. "Sawamura has him for English Literature and he says that he never even speaks. And you're telling  _me_ he asked you- that  _he_ made the first move?  **Bro**."

 

"Bro." Bokuto nods, going back out after closing Daichi's door and grabbing a cup of water. Their apartment hums from the heating system working over time to keep each room sufficiently warm. "He went abroad for a few years and enrolled in like, this school for geniuses and came back a year ahead. He's like. Still 19."

 

"He's too good." Kuroo shakes his head with a sloppy smile, crashing onto the couch. " _A cinnamon bun too pure for this world!_ "

 

Bokuto howls. " _You're drunk! What the hell- **cinnamon bun?**_ " 

 

Kuroo continues to laugh until he starts to hiccup. He sobers long enough to look Bokuto seriously in the eye. "I'm glad he makes you happy."

 

"...yeah...thank you..."

 

"Don't fuck it up."

 

He aims a cushion at Kuroo. "You're a fucking asshole, you know that?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's January when it happens.

 

"Bokuto-san!"

 

He springs up, blood pumping with adrenaline and excitement as he slams the ball down past Kuroo's stretch arms, landing squarely on his feet and pumping his arms up. " _AWWW_ YES! WHO'S THE BEST AT SPIKING? I AM!" He turns to Akaashi, who Bokuto has successfully dragged into practicing volleyball on Akaashi's rare days off. The setter looks uncomfortable at everything. "This is fun. It's fun right? Man, where were you during high school?"

 

"I was suppose to go to Fukurodani-"

 

"NO WAY! WE COULD HAVE BEEN SO GOOD!" Akaashi could have tasted what victory felt like (Pocari Sweat, protein bars, and a tang of salt from the happy tears when they clutched the banner). Akaashi could have been his setter. They could have been super abso-fucking-lutely  **awesome** together! 

 

Akaashi only rolls his eyes before Kuroo throws the ball at him, yelling at him to move it and start serving.

 

Bokuto stays behind to talk to Sawamura and Kageyama to thank them for stepping into today's skirmish when he sees a girl (speaking of which, they sometimes have a horde of girls watch them play. Bokuto blames it entirely on Kuroo's player status) comes up to Akaashi before he steps out of the gym with her.

 

His heart feels a sharp, stabbing pain that releases bitterness and pain into Bokuto's mouth before biding the former Karasuno members good night. He spots Akaashi's bag and hauls it onto his other shoulder before going out the door and walking into a scene. More specifically, a girl who has her arms wrapped around the flustered setter and face buried in his chest.

 

And Bokuto's sudden high from playing suddenly wears off like a caffeine crash and Akaashi's bag slides off his shoulder and falls on the ground.

 

The girl jumps and Akaashi zones his dark eyes on Bokuto, and Fukurodani's former captain gives a short, fake laugh to cover up his mistake. How could he been so stupid? "Sorry- sorry. I just wanted to give Akaashi his bag." His throat is going to close and he avoids the setter and looks at the ground- "Anyway, thanks for coming tonight, Akaashi. I'll see you when we get back from break- bye."

 

And he runs.

 

 

 

 

 

He catches the hay fever going around campus and enters New Years sweating profusely with a thermometer sticking out of his mouth and Daichi spoon feeding him soup and Kuroo hooking up his laptop to the TV to watch documentaries with him. He's delirious most of the time and conversations are brief and fuzzy. His throat burns and he throws up multiple times per night.

 

His fever miraculously breaks and after a very scrutinized examination from their neighbor (who's a medical student), Bokuto is allowed the green light to go outside and chill out, but not before Daichi shoves a glass of ginger tea in his hands and forces him to drink the whole thing.

 

Bokuto stumbles easily and drops onto a bench in the middle of a park, breathing labored as he loosens the scarf Kuroo forced around his neck. A quick look at the inky sky reminds him of Akaashi, and the ace sighs. They're probably dating right now. Kuroo had one look when he came back and zipped his mouth shut, and the next day, he was bed ridden with high fever and it's made talking impossible.

 

Stupid Akaashi and his stupid, cute hair, with his sleepy smiles and bright eyes and graceful limbs and long fingers. Stupid him for falling for him when he clearly knows he has no chance with the foreign student. Stupid Akaashi and his stupid jeans and deadpan personality and humor so dry it can spark a forest fire inside of him. Stupid him for actually thinking he has a chance with him.

 

"...Bokuto-san?"

 

Shit.

 

Bokuto turns, and smiles weakly. "Hey, Akaashi."

 

The setter drops gracefully beside Bokuto, and their knees collide. "...you weren't answering your phone. Sawamura-san told me you were sick."

 

"I was. I just go the okay to go out and walk around." Bokuto clears his throat and coughs lightly into his elbow. "Sorry for interrupting your conversation- but hey!" He closes his eyes and turns to grin at Akaashi. Maybe if he doesn't look at him the setter won't know what kind of pain he's inflicted on him. "Congratz and everything!"

 

"...Bokuto-san..."

 

"She's pretty cute I guess? I didn't get a good look at her."

 

"...Bokuto." His eyes open, and he sees Akaashi's serious stare. "I'm not straight."

 

"... _what?_ "

 

"I'm not straight. I rejected her. I don't like her. I like you."

 

A choke is all that comes out of him. "W-Wh-How?! But-"

 

Akaashi stops him with a kiss.

 

And Bokuto decides he can die happy.

 

When they break apart, Bokuto is feeling faint again, wondering if he should have listened to angel Sugawara Koushi about not going out anywhere until he's totally healthy, Akaashi pulls back, flustered and nervous.

 

"Hey?" The muscles in his face goes up without his permission into a wide grin.

 

"Yes?"

 

"You wanna come over and help me catch up with all the Calculus I miss?"

 

He hasn't seen Akaashi smile a lot. Not really. Most of the time it would be small smirks or sleepy nods, but damn, it's beautiful. "Of course, Bokuto." 

 

It's damn beautiful.

 

 

 

 


End file.
